Giants coaches recall early days of baseball in Denver

By Chris Haft / MLB.com

DENVER -- Tim Flannery got the feeling that Denver was destined to establish a bigger presence in the baseball world when he participated in an exhibition game here with the San Diego Padres against the Boston Red Sox in the late 1980s.

As Flannery recalled, more than 30,000 tickets were sold in advance. Snow had to be scraped from the playing surface at Mile High Stadium, but that didn't diminish the fan enthusiasm. "It was out-of-control loud," Flannery said.

With the Colorado Rockies observing their 20th anniversary, such memories were easy to conjure for Giants coaches who passed through here during the '80s while playing at the Triple-A level.

"At that time, it didn't feel like a baseball city," bench coach Ron Wotus said. "It was kind of a new experience, baseball-wise. It was a little bit odd the way the ball flew, because of the altitude."

Pretty soon, though, everybody grew accustomed to the conditions. Bill Hayes, the Giants' bullpen catcher, said that he imagined what Denver would be like as a big league town when he was playing for Iowa in the Chicago Cubs system.

"I thought they'd have a good turnout, they're going to score runs, it's going to be an offensive ballpark, and that's just what it turned out to be," Hayes said. "You knew the ball was going to jump and the pitchers would go, 'Aw, jeez.'"

Hayes recalled a bell that was situated alongside the Mile High Stadium press box that would ring for each run that Denver scored in each inning. "It sounded like a locomotive bell going off," Hayes said. "We couldn't get them out."

Bochy says Vogelsong has earned 'longer leash'

DENVER -- Despite his struggles, Ryan Vogelsong will remain in the Giants' starting rotation to face the Washington Nationals next Monday.

And he may have amassed enough credibility with manager Bruce Bochy to remain a starter beyond that, even if he endures another rough outing.

"He's done a lot," Bochy said of Vogelsong, whom he described as being in a positive frame of mind during a one-on-one chat Thursday. "He's earned some things, including a longer leash."

Bochy said that as of "right now," Vogelsong will be Monday's starter. But that qualifier didn't necessarily mean that Bochy would change his mind. Bochy noted that in their talk, Vogelsong volunteered to pitch long relief in the next few days if he's needed, since he threw just 64 pitches in two innings while yielding eight runs (three earned) on Wednesday in Toronto. So if Vogelsong were to appear in relief, he could be unavailable Monday.

Vogelsong (1-4) owns a 8.06 ERA, the highest among National League pitchers who have accumulated enough innings at a rate to qualify for the ERA title.

Hall exhibit to toast Giants' 2012 World Series title

DENVER -- The 2012 World Series trophy, which has made the rounds through Giants country, will visit hallowed ground during the weekend of June 22-23 when it goes on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The display will be part of the Hall of Fame's Autumn Glory exhibit during a weekend largely devoted to the reigning World Series champions. Plans were announced Thursday.

Items to be exhibited from the Giants' four-game Series sweep of Detroit include the bat Pablo Sandoval used to hit the first two of his three home runs in Game 1; the jersey that Ryan Vogelsong wore in his Game 3 victory; manager Bruce Bochy's warmup jacket that he wore throughout the entire Series; Gregor Blanco's glove that he used through the regular season and postseason; a Hunter Pence bat; Marco Scutaro and Matt Cain's postseason spikes; and Brandon Crawford's postseason cap.

During June, the Hall of Fame also will feature daily programs dedicated to the Giants.

Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.